IKON Establishes Premier Partner Program

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Press release from the issuing company

MALVERN, Pa.--Nov. 28, 2005-- IKON Office Solutions, the world's largest independent channel for document management systems and services, today announced the formation of a Premier Partner Program within IKON Professional Services, further enhancing the company's integrated suite of document management solutions and services. Among the members of IKON's Premier Partner Program are leading software companies that were announced as part of IKON's integrated solutions portfolio a year ago, including Captaris, EFI, EMC, Kofax, Notable Solutions Inc., Objectif Lune and Rochester Software Associates (RSA). New to the program are eCopy, IBM and Westbrook Technologies.
"By creating a Premier Partner Program, IKON is further establishing itself as a leading solutions integrator in the document management space," said Michael E. Kohlsdorf, Senior Vice President, IKON Enterprise Services and Information Technology. "The Premier Partner Program has clear benefits both for our partners and for IKON; however, our customers will benefit the most, as they will have access to IKON's independent assessment services and a best-in-class suite of document management solutions that will be sold, delivered, implemented and supported by one organization--IKON."
IKON's premier partners will have access to the company's broad customer base, from small and mid-market businesses to global firms, through IKON's international network of sales and Professional Services employees worldwide. IKON will provide first-level technical support for key products through the company's Client Support Desk, and licensing support through IKON's Software Licensing Desk. Customers will benefit from having a single source for all their document management needs--from assessments to implementation and post-sales technical support.
In turn, each premier partner provides IKON with focused channel resources, as well as access to high-level technical support resources. In many cases, IKON also has the option to private label certain products, and embed unique IKON functionality. IKON employees also receive comprehensive sales and technical training on products from premier partners.
Through the Premier Partner Program, IKON has a robust portfolio of solutions spanning the entire document lifecycle, from input to management, output and storage. The portfolio includes: eCopy for document capture and distribution; Kofax for document capture; Captaris for enterprise fax and document delivery solutions; Notable Solutions Inc. for comprehensive document workflow; EFI and RSA for web submission and workflow tools; Objectif Lune for output and distribution; and EMC Corporation (EMC Documentum ApplicationXtender), IBM and Westbrook Technologies for storage and archival. The suite is complemented by a number of IKON-exclusive solutions, including IKON DocSend® (incorporating EFI SendMe technology) for document capture and routing; IKON PowerPORT(TM) (incorporating Rochester Software Associates' M.I.S. Print technology) for open-systems printing; and IKON PowerPress(TM) (incorporating EFI MicroPress technology) for added print capacity through printer/MFP clustering.
IKON DocAccel(TM) (based on Notable Solutions Inc.'s AutoStore technology), an innovative distributed capture, processing and routing solution designed to accelerate and automate complex document workflow for organizations of all sizes, serves as the middleware linking the portfolio. All solutions within the portfolio are compatible with IKON DocAccel.
"Today's businesses are increasingly looking for a partner who understands document workflow, not just equipment, and has the breadth of solutions required to meet their specific needs," said Keith Kmetz, Program Director of Hardcopy Peripherals Solutions and Services for IDC. "IKON's Premier Partner Program is a logical evolution of the company's solutions strategy, giving businesses access to leading industry solutions, all implemented and supported by a knowledgeable IKON services team."
IKON Professional Services is a part of IKON Enterprise Services, IKON's global services organization with approximately 15,000 employees worldwide, and provides consulting services through document strategy assessments, network connectivity services and IKON's integrated suite of software solutions offered through the company's Premier Partner Program. In fiscal year 2005, IKON experienced growth in all key areas of the Professional Services business, and revenue grew 15% over the prior year.